Roko Šimić
![]() Šimić with Red Bull Salzburg in 2022 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | (2003-09-10) 10 September 2003 (age 20) | ||
Place of birth | Milan, Italy | ||
Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Kortrijk | ||
Youth career | |||
0000–2011 | Dinamo Zagreb | ||
2011–2015 | Kustošija | ||
2015–2020 | Lokomotiva Zagreb | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2020–2021 | Lokomotiva Zagreb | 25 | (3) |
2021–2024 | Red Bull Salzburg | 38 | (5) |
2021–2022 | → Liefering (loan) | 24 | (19) |
2023 | → Zürich (loan) | 16 | (4) |
2024– | Cardiff City | 0 | (0) |
2024– | → Kortrijk (loan) | 0 | (0) |
International career‡ | |||
2017 | Croatia U15 | 1 | (0) |
2018–2019 | Croatia U16 | 13 | (3) |
2019–2020 | Croatia U17 | 9 | (1) |
2021– | Croatia U21 | 20 | (8) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 October 2023 |
Roko Šimić (born 10 September 2003) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Belgian Pro League club Kortrijk on loan from EFL Championship club Cardiff City.
Career
Lokomotiva Zagreb
Šimić made his senior debut for Lokomotiva Zagreb on 16 August 2020 in a 6–0 league defeat to Dinamo Zagreb, getting substituted on for Indrit Tuci in the 66th minute. He was given an opportunity by coach Goran Tomić due to the club's lack of squad depth.[2] During the season, which was marked by Lokomotiva's struggle to preserve the first league status,[3] Šimić made 26 appearances and scored four goals.[4] He scored his debut goal for Lokomotiva on 7 October 2020, in a 3–2 victory over Gaj Mače in the Croatian Cup.[5] His debut league goals came on 21 April 2021 when he scored a brace in the 4–0 victory over Varaždin.[6][7]
Red Bull Salzburg
The first rumours that Red Bull Salzburg was following Šimić appeared in April 2021 in Kleine Zeitung.[8][7] Šimić signed a three-year deal with the Austrian club on 18 July 2021.[1] With income of €4 million, it is Lokomotiva's most expensive transfer surpassing that of Ivo Grbić to Atlético Madrid.[3] Despite the initial plan to leave the player at Lokomotiva on loan for half a season,[3] he moved to Austria immediately and joined Salzburg's feeder club FC Liefering.[9] He made his debut for Liefering on 30 July 2021, getting substituted on for Dijon Kameri in the 46th minute, and scored his debut goal within a minute in a 2–1 victory over St. Pölten.[4] On 10 October, he extended his contract with Salzburg until 2025, after impressing the club executives by scoring six goals in nine league appearances and two goals in two Youth League appearances.[10][11] On 20 October 2021, he made his senior team and Champions League debut, replacing Noah Okafor in the 87th minute of the 3–1 victory over VfL Wolfsburg.[12] Four days later, he made his league debut for the senior team, replacing Karim Adeyemi in the 87th minute of the 4–1 victory over Sturm Graz. During Salzburg's path to the Youth League Final, Šimić contributed seven goals and three assists, making him the joint-top goalscorer of the competition together with Mads Hansen and Aral Şimşir.[13]
On 5 January 2023, Šimić joined reigning Swiss Super League champions Zürich on loan until the end of the 2022–23 season.[14] He scored two goals on his debut on 21 January 2023 against FC Luzern, after entering the game only in the 77th minute.[15]
On 20 September 2023, he scored his first Champions League goal by netting a penalty in a 2–0 away win over Benfica.[16]
Cardiff City
On 30 August 2024, Šimić signed a four-year contract with Cardiff City.[17] Two days later, he was loaned to Kortrijk in Belgium for one season.[18]
Personal life
He is the son of former footballer Dario Šimić and his wife Jelena Medić,[19] and was born in Milan during his father's stint with AC Milan.[20] He has three brothers – Viktor, Nikolas and David.[21] He is also a nephew of Josip Šimić. Roko Šimić is also confirmation sponsor of Lukas Kačavenda,[22] and a distant relative of Herzegovinian hajduk Andrijica Šimić,[23]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 19 May 2024[24]
Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Lokomotiva Zagreb | 2020–21 | Prva HNL | 25 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 26 | 4 | |
Red Bull Salzburg | 2021–22 | Austrian Bundesliga | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |
2022–23 | Austrian Bundesliga | 9 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2[b] | 0 | — | 13 | 1 | ||
2023–24 | Austrian Bundesliga | 28 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 6[b] | 1 | — | 37 | 6 | ||
Total | 38 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 1 | — | 53 | 7 | |||
Liefering (loan) | 2021–22 | 2. Liga | 24 | 19 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 19 | ||
Zürich (loan) | 2022–23 | Super League | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 4 | ||
Career total | 103 | 31 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 119 | 34 |
- Notes
- ^ Includes Croatian Cup and Austrian Cup
- ^ a b c Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
Honours
Red Bull Salzburg
Individual
- UEFA Youth League top scorer: 2021–22[13]
References
- ^ a b "Roko Šimić". FC Red Bull Salzburg. 17 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ Šola, Robert (16 August 2020). "VIDEO: Šest golova na Maksimiru! Majer prvo ime večeri, zabio je dvaput i asistirao Dinamovom povratniku". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ a b c Jurišić, Predrag (12 July 2021). "Gotovo je, sin HR-legende odlazi - odmah! Pao je rekordni transfer nakon velikog preokreta". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Video: Sin legendarnog Vatrenog oduševio odmah na startu! Majstor zabio nakon samo jedne minute na terenu". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). 30 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ Lacković, Elvis (7 October 2020). "Fantastični Gaj odveo Lokose do produžetaka". Zagorje.com (in Croatian). Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ Galić, Mato (22 April 2021). "'Pokojnoj dadilji Elis posvetio sam golove protiv Varaždina'". 24sata (in Croatian). Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ a b Hrnčić, Fabijan (26 April 2021). "Roka Šimića prati RB Salzburg!". 24sata (in Croatian). Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ Sebestyen, Markus (26 April 2021). "Dutt in Wolfsberg: "Der Fokus liegt auf den Spielen, wir wollen jetzt keine Ablenkung"". Kleine Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "New striker from Croatia". FC Red Bull Salzburg. 17 July 2021. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "Salzburg verlängert Vertrag mit Roko Simic bis 2025". Kicker (in German). 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ Bradovski, Mihaela (10 October 2021). "Roko Šimić stavio potpis na produženje ugovora s RB Salzburgom". Sportnet (in Croatian). Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ HINA (20 October 2021). "Barcelona slavila na Camp Nou, debi Roka Šimića u Ligi prvaka i velika pobjeda Salzburga". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ a b UEFA.com (25 April 2022). "Benfica end title wait: 2021/22 at a glance | UEFA Youth League". UEFA.com. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ "ROKO SIMIC WECHSELT LEIHWEISE ZUM FC ZÜRICH". www.fcz.ch (in German). 5 January 2023. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
- ^ "Roko Šimić zablistao u debiju" [Roko Šimić shined in his debut]. Večernji list (in Croatian). Zagreb. 21 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ^ "Benfica 0–2 Salzburg". UEFA. 20 September 2023.
- ^ "Roko Simic agrees four-year contract". Cardiff City. 30 August 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ "Roko Simic naar het Guldensporenstadion" [Roko Simic to the Guldensporen Stadium]. K.V. Kortrijk. 1 September 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ^ "Talented Croatian footballer following in his father's footsteps". Croatia Week. 22 January 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ "Put Roka Šimića mimo Dinama od Kustošije do Red Bull Salzburga". Nacional (in Croatian). 12 September 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ Matteoni, Robert (30 December 2019). "ČAK TRI SINA LEGENDARNOG VATRENOG KRENULA PUTEM SLAVNOGA OCA! JEDAN JE VEĆ ZAKORAČIO U ELITU Sa samo 16 godina već je priključen prvoj momčadi!". Sportske novosti (in Croatian). Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ Junaci, Robert (8 October 2021). "Dario Šimić otkrio posebnu povezanost dva mlada vatrena: Ovo još niste znali". Večernji list (in Croatian). Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ "VIDEO: 110. godina od smrti hajduka Andrijice Šimića". Grude Online (in Croatian). 5 February 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ Roko Šimić at Soccerway. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
External links
- Roko Šimić at Soccerway
- Roko Šimić at the Croatian Football Federation
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